Aug 15, 2007 04:00 PM
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The Guardian is reporting that the CIA, the Vatican and Fox News, among other organizations, are altering key entries in Wikipedia to manipulate your views of he world. But hold on: before you put your tinfoil hat on, better read about the stupid things they are changing.
The Vatican is editing entries on Catholic saints and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, while Fox News is revising reporter entries, including Shepard Smith's famous blowjobs. Or better said, the famous reporter who said "blowjob" live on their channel (hey, we are fair and balanced —why anyone would like to change that, I don't know.) The Republican and Democratic party, as well as those pesky Brits from the Labour party, have been changing entries to favor their views, too. Not to mention Diebold. Wikipedia Scanner, which is tracking all these changes, said that Diebold it the major culprit.
[Diebold] has made huge alterations to entries about its involvement in the controversial "hanging chad" election in the US in 2000. The company was criticised in the wake of the disputed results, but edits made by its employees on Wikipedia have included the removal of 15 paragraphs detailing the allegations.
So what has the CIA been doing, apart from covering the JFK assassination, the fake moon landings, Area 51 and Elvis' exile to a secret island in the middle of the Pacific? Well, they have been editing the entries of Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. However, their biggest contribution seems to be Jedis:
A surfer using a CIA address also took the time to add extensive sections on lightsabre combat in the Star Wars movies.
Anonymous source, whoever you are, pick up the phone. Jason Bourne's calling and he's pissed off: CIA agents don't use lighsabres, you fool —they just kill with their own bare hands! Or do they? [The Guardian]
Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.
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